I have been writing short stories since I was able to write. My first ever "book" was entitled "Nannette the Wonder Cat" a series of short stories based off the adventures I imagined my cat, Nannette, went on while I was at school all day. I think I was in 2nd grade when that started. I had written the book and illustrated it too. It was quite the little imagination I had. Telling stories and taking photos has been a part of my life since forever and I personally have such an interesting story that I have considered writing a blog on multiple occasions. I think that this opportunity through IES Abroad, to begin my blog while having the experience of a lifetime would serve as a great medium for me to express myself while I am in Siena as well as give me the practice so I can maintain a blog for a long time after my journey with IES Abroad ends.

I am just your average dog-loving, cheese-obsessed girl going into my last year as an undergrad.

Hello! I'm a current junior at Grinnell College, studying sociology and planning to go into public health policy. Outside of classes, I stay busy by volunteering to help (and play with!) dogs at the local animal shelter and organizing around national issues with other on-campus student activists. This semester in Cape Town will be my first time out of the United Staes, and I'm beyond excited to see where it takes me.

Kia ora! My name is Jessica and I'm majoring in biology and environmental studies at Lawrence University, a small school in Appleton, WI. I grew up in Marquette, Michigan and will always call the shore of Lake Superior home. I love to travel and have been to Costa Rica, Chile, and Argentina so far.

Hi there! My name is Tessa, and I am junior at the University of Rochester double majoring in Film and Media Studies and Business.  I was born and raised in Middletown, New Jersey and have traveled halfway around the world to study, backpack, and film my way through New Zealand.  I'm so excited to share what I see with you.  Get ready for a wild ride!

Kamishibai is a Japanese style of storytelling that was popular in the first half of the 20th century. These narrators were street performers of a sort -- they read a variety of stories from a series of illustrated paper boards, entertaining the commonfolk before the emergence of television. I will blog about my experiences in Japan through a modernized version of kamishibai, telling my stories through a series of photographs and their corresponding narrations that will be similar to a novel.

I am the younger of two and the only one to study abroad. I have never had a bloody nose and I am immensely proud of that. I have always been very creative and am very excited to study abroad!

Hey y'all! My name Meagan Nkansah and I'm from Houston, Texas. I am in my junior year at Rice University studying Kinesiology: Health Sciences with interests in public health, social justice, sexual health education. I have a big, Ghanaian family and love reading as well as all things pertaining to food. I hope you find my pictures as amazing as Amsterdam is.

Hi, I'm Julia! I'm studying Geography and Anthropology and Penn State and minoring in Japanese. I'll be exploring Tokyo from March to July 2017.

Hi, I'm Aine! First of all, it's pronounced Anya. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'm an aspiring journalist and world traveler with a passion for food and all things French. I go to school in Chicago and I'm from Philadelphia (two cities with vibrant food scenes, of course). My dream job is to be a writer for Bon Appétit or a food magazine in France, and I'm on a mission to eat as much French food as I can in six weeks.